The Sweet Melodies
by Fantasysword92375
Summary: What if Mike Schmidt had a sister? What if his sister found out about the goings-on at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza when the lights go out? What would she do to protect her older brother?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. Remember when I said I was going to work on getting my stories prewritten so that I could have a consistent upload schedule? Well, I'm still working on it, but not updating for so long was making me feel ashamed, so I thought I'd show you guys some of what I've been working on. I promise that neither of my other two stories have been abandoned; I will get back to them eventually. However, at this time my inspiration for those two is at a standstill, and I got really into the fandoms of FNAF and Undertale, so those stories have picked up a lot of steam. This is my first FNAF fanfiction that I started several months ago, so let's get right into it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Five Nights at Freddy's! Scott Cawthon is the genius that holds that honor.**

 **Chapter 1: Help Wanted**

 _Hi! My name is Melody Schmidt. I'm 13 years old, and I live with my older brother Mike. Our parents went on a cruise a few years ago and they never came back. Mike keeps saying that they're lost at sea, not dead, but we both know they're not coming back. It's just easier to deal with it if we don't say it aloud. I still miss them, of course, but it also had a different effect on me. See, I've always liked helping others, but since Mom and Dad disappeared, I've been determined to never let anyone become as sad as Mike and I. I stayed with our aunt until Mike finished college and came back to care for me. Mike keeps taking odd jobs so he can support the both of us. He just got a new job as a night guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, actually._

I walked tiredly in the door of Jeremy's house and tossed my coat at the closet. It landed on top of all the other coats, just like it was supposed to.

"Melody?" I heard my brother call from the kitchen. In the back of my mind, something didn't feel right, but mostly I was just happy to hear his voice. I hardly ever got to see him, since he was always at work.

"Hi Mike!" I said brightly as I walked into the kitchen and slung my backpack off my shoulder and onto the floor. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

He laughed. "You saw me last weekend, sis."

"I know!" I exclaimed. "That was so long ago!"

Mike rolled his eyes and gestured at my bag. "Homework?"

"Yeah..." I muttered. "I hate math class."

"Want some help?" He asked with a smile. "Math always came to me a little more easily than the other subjects."

"That'd be great, thanks." I sighed as I set my math book on the table.

"So where's Jeremy?" My brother asked as he showed me how to do number 7.

"Probably still at Freddy's. I mean, his shift doesn't end until 9:00."

"I thought he got off at 6:00 on Sundays though." Mike recalled.

I shrugged. "It's still only 5:30."

I guess I should explain who we're talking about. Jeremy Fitzgerald is my brother's best friend; has been since they were in 2nd grade. Mike probably spent as much time at Jeremy's house as he did at ours. They were as close as brothers. When Jeremy heard about what happened to our parents, he told Mike that we were free to stay with him as long as we needed to. Mike gratefully accepted the invitation, but he wouldn't let Jeremy do anymore providing for us, saying that we'd just be staying until he found a steady source of income. Unfortunately, that turned out to be much longer than expected; yet Jeremy never complains.

Thinking about Jeremy caused something to click in my mind. "Mike," I questioned with a frown, "why are you home so early? I thought your shift at the factory ended at 8:45."

Mike froze, the pencil hovering over the paper. He grimaced. "Melody-"

I cut him off. "Remember the rule Mike."

He sighed. After Mom and Dad vanished, Mike and I had promised each other one thing: No secrets. If he asked me a question, I had to answer honestly, no matter what the question was about, and vice versa. "I got fired today, Melody." He replied quietly, looking down at the table. I stared at him, unsure if I had heard him right. He'd been fired?

We finished the rest of the homework, but my mind was wandering. I couldn't understand why my brother of all people would get fired. He was one of the best employees there was! After I finished my homework, I went down to my room, which was the guest room.

I logged in to my computer and turned on my iPod. Listening to music always calmed me down and cleared my mind. I stayed down there, checking my email and social media until I heard the door open and close. _'_ _Jeremy must be back.'_ I walked upstairs but paused on the landing, hearing Mike and Jeremy talking in hushed tones. Yes, Mike and I tell each other everything, but wouldn't you eavesdrop if your legal guardian and the person who owns the house you lived in were talking?

"...don't know what to do." Mike was saying despairingly. "The foreman deserved it and I don't regret it at all, but there are only so many job opportunities here."

"But you don't have enough money to get your own place yet, right?" Jeremy questioned, and I could practically hear his contemplative frown.

"No." Mike sighed. "If I could keep a job for more than a few months, I might. I'm really sorry about this. It was only supposed to be a month or two, but we've been a burden to you for a year and a half now."

"Stop that!" Jeremy said, punching him on the shoulder. "Stop saying that you're being a burden. You guys are way too low maintenance to be an issue." This earned a chuckle from my brother. "Enough depressing stuff. Is your sister downstairs? I got to take home a couple of the extra pizzas today."

"Yeah." Mike said, "I'll go get her."

 _'_ _Uh-oh.'_ I thought. _'I don't want to have to explain this.'_ Yes, Mike and I had promised to tell the truth, but only if someone asked. I retreated down a few steps, then started to go back up as he stepped onto the landing.

"Oh hey." He said in mild surprise. "Want some pizza?"

A few minutes later, all three of us were seated in front of the TV, munching on slices of hamburger. Jeremy and I were fighting over which movie to watch.

"We've seen The Avengers a dozen times!" I yelled.

"That's the beauty of it!" He argued. "It's such a good movie, it never gets old!"

Meanwhile, Mike was scanning the paper for jobs and open houses. "Hey Melody, you okay with going to an open house on Saturday?"

"As long as it's not one we've already been to." I replied.

Suddenly, Jeremy sat bolt upright. "I'm an idiot!" He exclaimed.

"Are you just now reaching that conclusion?" Mike asked.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and continued. "We just had an opportunity open up at the pizzeria. I can't believe that I didn't think of this before!"

"Wait, really?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "The old guy quit this morning. Guess he found something better."

"What's the position?" Mike asked. "Actually, I don't care. When can I apply?"

"Come with me to work tomorrow." Jeremy said. "They haven't even started running an ad in the paper yet, so you shouldn't have any competition. If all goes well, you'll be the new night guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria."

 **So as you're probably already guessed, the canon is completely out the window in this story. Also, I think I mentioned this already, but right now Jeremy is the day guard. Like I said, I'm not completely ready to have a consistent update schedule, but I'll do my best to post something in... two weeks? Yeah two weeks sounds good. Alright, see you then!**


	2. Chapter 2

**...Oops. I'm sorry everyone I really did intend to post this yesterday, but I fell asleep. I know that's a horrible reason, but that's the best I've got. Sorry.**

 **Alright, chapter 2! I don't have anything interesting to say, so let's get going! Oh wait, I almost forgot. This chapter does contain two instances of mild language. Poor Mike got a little upset. ;)**

 **Disclaimer: God bless Scott Cawthon, owner of the Five Nights at Freddy's series! The only character that's mine is Melody.**

 **Chapter 2: Tough Jobs**

I woke up the next morning to find Mike and Jeremy had already left. I glanced at the clock, which read... 7:30? For a second I wasn't sure why they had left so early. Then I remembered, and facepalmed at my own stupidity. ' _Duh! The job interview.'_

I rolled out of bed and grabbed my phone from the nightstand out of force of habit. Opening it, I saw a new text message from Mike, sent at 6:53.

' _Morning Music Note! Jeremy and I went to Fazbear's to try and land me that job. If all goes well, I'll be home before you, so fingers crossed! Hopefully you'll be up soon, but I'm going to call you at 7:40 so that you don't miss the bus. Make sure that you have everything that you need for school today, because I won't be able to bring you anything you forget. Don't forget that we're going to that open house on Saturday. Have a great day Sis!'_

I smiled and quickly sent back a reply. ' _You don't need to call me. I'm out of bed now. If that man has half a brain, he'll see that you're the best employee ever! See you tonight bro :)_

I got ready for school just like normal, grabbed a couple of Pop-tarts and a bottle of Sunny-D, and walked down to the bus stop. Once it got there, I climbed on and sat next to a girl who was reading a book. As I slid in next to her, she looked up in confusion. I nodded at the girl as I put in my headphones, who if memory served was named Abby, and seemingly satisfied she went back into the book. School passed by in a blur, the choir concert being the only thing that really stuck out. I made a mental note to remind Jeremy and Mike that it was this Sunday. _'I wonder if he got the job.'_ I thought as I moved through the lunch line.

 _ **A few hours earlier...**_

 **Mike's POV**

Jeremy and I walked through the front door of the pizzeria at 7:00 AM. Jeremy lead me past the animatronic band and towards the manager's office. He knocked on the door and was rewarded with a tired "Come in." We walked in the office and found the manager sitting at his desk, filling out some sort of report. It was a small room, with flanking file cabinets behind the desk in each corner. The desk had an older-looking computer and keyboard on one side, a picture frame that was facing away from me along with a pencil sharpener and Newton's Cradle on the other, and a space for filling out paperwork in the middle. He looked up and smiled, though it seemed a little forced.

"Ah, good morning Jeremy." He said, then looked at me with an expression of polite confusion. "And you are..?" He asked.

"Mr. Cawthon, this is Mike Schmidt. He's my... roommate, I guess you'd call it. He's here to apply for the night guard position."

Mr. Cawthon looked like he wanted to say something, but apparently thought better of it. Storing whatever he'd been working on in a drawer, he sat forward. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to work here Mike?"

As I handed him my résumé, I launched into the story of how I'd gotten in this position. Mr. Cawthon nodded thoughtfully, frowning at the paper. "It says here you were fired from a couple of earlier jobs, including your last one at a factory?"

I winced. "If I can explain sir, most of those weren't my fault, and the factory one definitely wasn't." I expected him to crumple up my résumé and throw it in the trash. Instead he looked up at me curiously.

"Tell me why it's not your fault." He said, intrigued.

Not actually expecting to get the chance to talk, my vocal chords almost failed me. As I gaped like a fish out of water at him, I realized my golden opportunity was fading fast. I cleared my throat and somehow choked out the truth.

"The manager had asked me to come and open up with him that morning. When we went inside, there were a couple of homeless kids sleeping on the floor. I guess they'd snuck in the day before. Anyway the manager completely flipped out. He started screaming at them to get out, and as they were leaving he pulled out a gun and started shooting at them! I grabbed the gun and punched him in the face. I guess I'm stronger than I look, because he passed out. I hurriedly got the kids out of there, and gave them each a twenty dollar bill. When the manager came to, he told me I was fired." I clenched my fists with anger just remembering it. "Basically I was fired for being a nice guy, and not being a cold, heartless businessman that only cares about money like he was. If you ask me that sounds more like a who-" Jeremy coughed loudly. I froze mid-sentence, looking at Mr. Cawthon with embarrassment.

'Way to be professional, dipstick.' I berated myself mentally. No way could I get a job at a children's restaurant with a mouth like that on me.

Mr. Cawthon sat back in his chair, thinking. Suddenly he stood and extended his hand for me to shake. "Welcome to the Fazbear Family, Mike." He said with a grin.

My eyes went wider than a small pizza. "Really?" I stammered, taking his outstretched appendage. "You're giving me the job?"

Mr. Cawthon chuckled. "Yes I am. You have a good heart Mike. I'm sure that you'll do a fine job of looking after Bonnie, Chica and Freddy. Is it too much for me to ask you to start tonight?"

"No, no!" I exclaimed giddily. "That would be great! I'll go home and get some sleep right away! Thank you so much, Mr. Cawthon! I promise you won't regret it!"

"I'm sure I won't." He said as he pulled out a contract from one of the desk drawers. "The first week is mandatory. You can't quit until your eighth night. The only way you could leave is if you got fired, which I'm sure I don't have to worry about. All you need to do is tell me what uniform size you need and sign on the dotted line, and the night guard position is yours." He tossed me the paper and a pen.

I snatched them out of midair and signed the contract as quickly and legibly as I could. As I handed it back to him, I said, "I'll take a medium uniform please."

"Sounds good. I'll send it home with Jeremy at the end of his shift."

Jeremy cleared his throat. "Sir, we rode here together, so would it be alright if I drove Mike home real quick?"

Mr. Cawthon gave an exaggerated sigh. "I SUPPOSE..." He said in fake exasperation, then waggled his finger at my friend. "But it'll be coming out of your paycheck Fitzgerald." He teased.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and gave a mock salute. "Yes sir." Then he laughed. "I'll be back soon Scott." The two of us walked out of his office and to the parking lot.

"Is he cool with you calling him Scott like that?" I asked Jeremy bewilderedly as we climbed into his grey pickup. "He doesn't want you to call him Mr. Cawthon, or Boss or Sir?"

"Nah." Jeremy turned the key and the engine roared to life. "Remember how he said 'Welcome to the Fazbear Family?' That's his attitude about the whole staff. We're all one big happy family. He's not going to correct you if you call him Mr. Cawthon, but he's okay with being referred to by his first name."

As we pulled onto the street to go home, I thought about texting Melody and telling her the good news. ' _Actually I'll wait until she gets home.'_ I decided. ' _I want to tell her this good news in person.'_

 _ **Animatronic line break**_ _ **SORRY! OUT OF ORDER!**_

 _ **Melody's POV**_

I walked into the living room and saw Mike laying on the couch, looking like he just woke up. "How'd the interview go?" I asked anxiously.

He grinned. "I got it no sweat! Jeremey didn't even have to say anything to him! AND I'm guaranteed to keep the job for at least a week! I start tonight at midnight."

"Awesome!" I exclaimed, giving him a hug. Then I remembered my concert. "Oh, hey, that reminds me! Can you ask for this Sunday off? Our choir concert is at 7."

"Sure. Mr. Cawthon is a pretty cool guy. I'm sure he'll let me and Jeremy have it off."

"Great! I've got homework to do, so if you need me, I'll be in my room." I said, walking downstairs.

 _ **Camera disabled Audio only.**_

 _ **11:50 that night...**_

 _ **Mike's POV**_

I pulled up in front of the pizzeria dressed in the purple guard uniform that Jeremy had brought me and found Mr. Cawthon standing in front of the door. As I walked up to him he tossed me the keys to the restaurant. "There are recorded instructions for you in your office." He called as he got into his car and drove off.

"Hey, wait-" I started, but he was already gone. 'Wonder what's got him in such a hurry.' I thought as I entered the restaurant. I glanced at the animatronics on the show stage and shuddered. "They look a lot creepier at night." I muttered to myself as I walked past them. I went to my office, which I'd been shown earlier, and sat in the swivel chair. The office was nothing to scream about; in fact it was just barely over arms width. There was a desk built into the opposite wall, with a few computer screens, a soft drink cup, and several crumpled up paper balls atop it. Beneath the desk was a large speaker that was covered in a cobweb, and on the wall behind the desk was a poster of the mascots with CELEBRATE! written underneath them and about nine children's drawings tacked over the empty space next to them. I saw that there was a slight bulge under Freddy's nose, causing me to frown and get out of my chair. I pressed my hand against the lump to flatten it, and jumped back in surprise when it let out a squeak like a bicycle horn. After I got over my initial shock, a smile spread across my face. I laughed as I pushed it a few more times.

"That's so cool!" I cried happily, giving it one final honk before turning around and sitting back down in the chair. "And adorable!"

After spinning around a couple of times (don't act like you wouldn't have), I saw a message on the answering machine. "Those must be the instructions he mentioned." I thought aloud as I pressed the button.

" _Hello? Hello, hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night."_

"Well that was nice of you." I said to the phone as the clock rolled over to midnight, causing a chime to echo through the building. "I imagine it's going to get pretty lonely in this tiny cramped office, so I appreciate it."

" _Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact."_

"Oh did you?" I asked, surprised. "Can't have been right before me though, because Mr. Cawthon knew about your messages. I wonder how old these are?"

" _So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming,-"_

I couldn't help chuckling. "This ain't my first job bud. I've been to this rodeo several times before."

" _But there's really nothing to worry about. You'll do fine!"_

"Aw, thanks man!" I said, smiling happily. "You have no idea how good it feels for someone other than Jeremy or my sister to express confidence in me!"

 _"So for now let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Ok?"_

I nodded absentmindedly as I pulled up the tablet to check the cameras, looking at the animatronics on the Show Stage and reaffirming what I already knew: those things looked way creepier at night. Then I frowned. "Wait a minute, the way you said that is a little unsettling. What do you mean get through my first week?"

 _"Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grownups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life.'"_

I groaned. "I'm not sure what's cheesier about this place: the pizza, or that greeting."

 _"'Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovery of damage or death has occurred,-'"_

"Whoa whoa hold the phone, no pun intended." I dropped the tablet as I stared in horror at the answering machine. "DEATH?!"

"' _A missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced.' Blah blah blah."_

"Uh, NO!" I yelled. "Not blah blah blah! You don't just say that these people are going to COVER UP MY DEATH and brush it off like a normal everyday thing! That's not okay guy!"

" _Now that might sound bad, I know."_

"Ya think?!" I snapped worriedly.

" _But there's really nothing to worry about! Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No!"_

"Wait, what?" I whispered as terror pulsed through my body like an icy wave. "Please tell me you don't mean what I think you mean by 'quirky.'"

" _If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath, I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too."_

"That's not funny." I said quietly, pushing the gray square button labeled LIGHT by the right door. The doorway was illuminated, but thankfully there was nothing there. "That's not funny at all."

" _So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay."_

"Does me putting my foot up their asses count as respect?" I snapped irritably, slamming my hand into the right LIGHT again, as it was still on. Apparently it didn't turn off by itself. "'Cause that's all the respect they'll get from me! Mike Schmidt deserves respect too!"

" _So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh...Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too."_

"First of all that's poor design." I remarked as I picked up the tablet again and turned on the cameras, desperately absorbing all I could about the building. There were ten cameras, which I quickly flipped through. Nothing seemed too unusual, until I got to the Kitchen camera, or rather the static screen that came up when I clicked on it. The only things I could see were the minimap, the power bar that was displayed both on the clock in my office and the tablet, and the simple white text of -CAMERA DISABLED- AUDIO ONLY. "Secondly, why can't they walk around anymore?" Unfortunately my question was answered immediately.

" _But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah... I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?"_

"THE BITE?!" I screeched, dropping the tablet again. Miraculously, it still hadn't cracked. "WHAT BITE?! WHY HAVEN'T I EVER HEARD OF ONE OF THOSE THINGS BITING OFF SOMEONE'S FREAKING HEAD?!"

" _Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person."_

"What?" I asked, my confusion momentarily overwhelming my fear. "Do I look like an alien in the dark or something?"

" _They'll p-most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit."_

"...Why is that bad?" I wondered. "Aren't those things made of artificial fur?"

" _Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort...and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh."_

I swallowed back the rising bile in my throat. I've always had a rather vivid imagination, and an opposition to blood. That gruesome description triggered both of them. "WHAT THE HELL?! HOW IS THIS A PLACE FOR KIDS?"

" _Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night."_

"Wha- NO!" I yelled at the phone. "Hey! Come back here! You can't just leave me like this!" There was no reply. I buried my head in my hands, and after a moment let out a shaky laugh. "I was talking to a pre-recorded message this whole time. This job is already starting to get to me."

I took a deep breath and looked at the clock, which displayed 1:30 AM, 87% power, and one green bar of battery, so minimal power usage. "Okay." I said. "I'm going to be fine." I made an educated guess that every time I did something it would drain my power faster. I turned on the left light to test my theory (My Game Theory! Thanks for watching!...Sorry.) and was rewarded with another green bar in the battery icon, which I took to mean light usage. Theory confirmed. I pulled up the cameras again and clicked around to each camera. Nothing seemed amiss in any of the rooms. Then I made the mistake of clicking on the Show Stage camera. When the live feed popped up, I screamed involuntarily. _All of the animatronics were staring directly into the camera._

 **DUN DUN DUN! Looks like Mike has landed himself in a bit of trouble. Will he be able to Survive The Night? Tune in next time to find out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**_...Is it even worth it for me to try and defend myself anymore? Because as much as I hate to admit it, this type of long silence and random uploads will probably be the norm. I get one free week this summer, and I'll probably have to spend it catching up on sleep. My life is still pretty chaotic and whiplashy at the moment, and I have no clue when it will get better. All I can really do is promise you all that I will try my hardest to keep updating and writing._**

 ** _But enough about my life! If you wanted to hear someone else's sob story you'd be reading a blog or something (no offense to any of you who may have blogs out there). You're here for a story, and as an author, I can give you one. Hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I wasn't any more aware of The Sister Location than you guys. Ergo, I'm not Scott Cawthon, and his characters are still his._**

 **Mike's POV**

I walked stiffly out of the pizzeria at 6:15 and saw Mr. Cawthon standing there waiting for me. As I approached him, he sighed with relief. "You survived."

I stopped a few feet in front of him, clenched fists shaking with rage. "Did you know?" I demanded. He nodded as he put on a practiced poker face, showing no emotion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have wanted the job if I'd told you?" He questioned coolly.

"Of course not!" I yelled, shoving my hands into my pockets and grabbing the insides of them so I wouldn't rearrange my new boss's face. "Did you miss the part where I'm the only family my sister has left?! The aunt that she stayed with before got taken six feet under a year ago, my cousins have broken all ties with us, and our parents have disappeared off the face of the Earth! Who's going to take care of her if I'm killed looking after your psycho animatronics?!"

"Well, someone's gotta do it." He said, as if it were a fact as undeniable as time.

"Why?! Can't you have them fixed?"

"We've tried that. I had a mechanic come in and look at them, I had their artificial intelligence set to the lowest setting... We even tried shutting them off once. The next day I came back and found the guard in a suit, the kitchen camera broken beyond repair, and YOU CAN'T scrawled all over the walls. Having a night guard for them to chase is the only thing that works." He explained sadly. "Trust me Mike, it gives me no pleasure to continually hire people without telling them what they're getting into, but just think about what could happen if they got outside. You know what will happen to you if you get caught, but no one else does. They would probably just walk right up to them and then... Well, I'm sure the recording mentioned the Bite of '87 to you."

I fell silent at that, picturing Bonnie walking down a street late at night, coming up to some teenager, and caving his skull in by lunging forward and chomping down on the poor boy's face. Mr. Cawthon had a good point, even though I hated to admit it. I glared at him. "I can't quit, can I?"

He shook his head. "You have to finish the week. The only ways you can get out of it are dying or messing with the animatronics, in which case you'll be fired with no paycheck. After one week you will be free to go."

"Fine. Can Jeremy and I have Sunday off then?"

He looked startled at that being my only question. "Um, why?"

"It's my sister's choir concert." I replied, popping my fingers as I waited for an answer.

"Oh." He nodded. "Sunday and Saturday for you are mandatory your first week and overtime after, but I can let you have Sunday off if you'll come in next Monday."

"Deal." I said, shaking his hand. He chuckled.

"I'm glad someone finally understands." He said. "Most people don't even bother to listen to me, and try to quit. Then I have to threaten them with the $10,000 fine, and-"

"Wait hold on." I held my hands out to stop from falling over from my sudden dizziness. "HOW MUCH was that fine?"

A smirk slid onto his face. "$10,000. The whole job kind of depends on people not reading the contract before they sign. You'd be amazed how often it works."

I stared at him, starting to feel like an idiot. "What all was in that contract?" I asked carefully, wondering if I had put myself in a Catch-22 of sorts. "Any other rules I should know about?"

"Hmm..." He tapped his fingers against his chin. "Normally I would have to get out the contract to force people to stay, but since you've agreed to on your own, I'll just give you the general gist of it." He cleared his throat. "I believe it goes something like, 'By signing this contract, I agree to work the night shift of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria for at the very least seven days to the best of my ability. I also agree that regardless of my employment status with Freddy's, I will not show any evidence, speak of, or in any other way describe anything that happens during the night shift to anyone but Mr. Cawthon. Failure to comply with the above conditions will result in a $10,000 fine and legal action varying with the severity of the offense. I also agree that I will not pursue legal action against Fazbear Entertainment or Freddy Fazbear's Pizza should something unfortunate happen. This contract is legally binding.' That's the short version anyway."

My mouth dropped open like a broken hinge. "Is that constitutional?" I asked suspiciously.

"Doesn't matter. You signed it." He shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry Mike. I didn't write the contract. It's been with the company much longer than I have. It even predates 1987."

"Oh. So this is what it feels like to sell your soul to the Devil." I grumbled. "If I stay, will I at least get a raise eventually?"

"Quite possibly. We can discuss that more after your first week assuming you choose to stay." ' _And survive.'_ The unspoken truth hung between us like a noose. Mr. Cawthon coughed uncomfortably. "You know, you're taking this a lot more casually than everyone else."

I shrugged. "I need the money, and at least I'm doing something good and protecting people. If you have any tips I'd appreciate them though."

He nodded thoughtfully. "If you can get here 30 or 40 minutes early, I'll tell you everything I know to help you survive."

"Thanks." I said, and turned to get into my car before realizing something. "Mr. Cawthon!" I called. He turned in the doorway to look at me. "Do the daytime employees know?"

He shook his head. "No, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Of course they wouldn't believe you anyway, but still."

I nodded, and left for home, eager to get some sleep after what I had just been through.

 **Melody's POV**

When I got home from school, Mike was on the computer working on something. "Hi." I called to him, expecting him to just say hi back and finish up. Instead, he screamed and turned around so fast he fell out of his chair.

"Good God Mike, are you okay?" I said as I rushed over to help him up.

"Y-Yeah." He replied shakily, his bright blue eyes flitting around like those of a cornered animal.

"What's got you so spooked?" I asked, glancing at the computer screen, which stopped me in my tracks. "Mike... Why are you working on your will?"

He looked around, then beckoned me closer. "Can you keep a secret? No one else can know about what I'm going to tell you. Especially Jeremy." He whispered. When I nodded, he took a deep breath. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but the animatronics come alive at night, and they want to kill me. I promise I'm not making this up."

I stared at him in disbelief. I was tempted to ask if he was on something, but after a while I concluded he was telling the truth. We always told each other the truth when asked, with NO exceptions.

"Do you know why they were trying to kill you?" I asked.

"The old guard said something about they don't see me as a human, but as an endoskeleton without its costume on. Apparently, that's against the rules, so they try to put me in one of the spares in the back." He sighed, rubbing his forehead and pushing his mop of brown hair back.

"So, couldn't you just put on an empty one?" I asked confused.

"Sis, it's an ANIMATRONIC suit. It's full of uncomfortable wires, metal gears, and pokey bits. I see where you're going with that though. Maybe I can ask Mr. Cawthon about that."

"Ok. Well, how can I help you? Maybe if-"

"Melody." Mike cut me off. "I appreciate it; I really do. But the old guard left recorded messages for me, and Mr. Cawthon said he's willing to tell me all that he knows. All you can really do is pray for me and listen to me gripe and moan."

I would've argued with him about it more, but just then Jeremy came through the door, and Mike immediately minimized the window.

"Sup?" Jeremy said. "Business was really slow today, so they closed early. How was your first night on the job, Mike?"

"It was alright." Mike said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Those robots are a lot creepier at night, let me tell you."

 **Mike's POV**

I pulled up to the pizzeria at 11:15, trying to keep my hands from shaking. The only thing keeping me from driving off was the fact that I had my will in order, which hadn't been hard, as all I really had to do was make Jeremy Melody's legal guardian and leave what little I owned to him until Melody could have legal ownership of it. All of my money was already set to go into a college fund for her. Plus, Mr. Cawthon was coming in to give me all his tips and tricks, so I was getting all worked up over nothing, right?

The image of Bonnie's face inches away from the Backstage Camera with endoskeleton eyes forced its way to the front of my mind. " _ **WRONG."**_ It seemed to hiss at me, glaring at me with it's white pinprick pupils and black hole irises. I shuddered as I turned the key and got out of my car. I walked up to the door and was surprised to see Mr. Cawthon standing there waiting for me.

"The sooner we can get through this, the better." He said in answer to my questioning look. He pushed the door open and led me inside to an area I hadn't really payed much attention to the previous night. "This is Pirate Cove." He explained as he pulled back the star covered purple curtain. The character revealed wasn't in very good shape. It appeared to be a fox with an eyepatch and a hook hand, but his costume looked like it had been through a tornado of knives. It seemed as if he'd been originally fitted with long brown pants, but now all that remained was practically a poorly sewn skirt of lanky brown leaves the length of your typical track shorts. The robot's long metallic legs and feet glinted in the dull light. "Foxy here is a special case. You have to keep a close eye on him, or he'll charge your left door. The problem is that if you watch him too much, he'll do the same thing."

"So I need to find a balance? Do you know about how often I should check him?" I asked.

"I'm sorry Mike, but I don't. I'd try to figure it out sooner rather than later though. The animatronics become more active as the week goes by. Foxy will be active tonight through the week." He explained as he led me to the Show Stage. "You already know what Bonnie and Chica do."

"Yeah." I glared at the bunny and chicken. "They hang around your doors and drain your power. Or she'll disappear, and he practically teleports over to the door while I'm looking for her. Jerks." I shot an obscene gesture at them. Mr. Cawthon laughed.

"For future reference, when Chica disappears, listen for the clanking of pots and pans in the Kitchen. That's usually where she's at. If she's not there, well..."

"Right door." I said nodding. "You seem to know the routes they'll take pretty well."

He pulled a folded piece of notebook paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. I opened it up and saw a hastily scrawled map of the restaurant. There were purple, yellow, red, and brown splotches all over the map. "Purple is for Bonnie, yellow is Chica, red is Foxy, and brown is Freddy." He explained. "This is something that one of the earlier guards drew up before, well..." I nodded.

"I get it." I changed the subject quickly. "What about Freddy?"

"Ah, yes." Mr. Cawthon nodded. "Mr. Fazbear here is the trickiest of them all. He doesn't become active until tomorrow night, but when he does, he... well, he stalks and sneaks about. He hides as best as he can in the cameras. Watch for two white dots of light."

I shivered, feeling like a cool breeze had just blown through the closed doors and down my spine. I looked down at the map, and did a double take. "He comes from both sides?!" I exclaimed in horror, looking at the bear's splotches in the East Hall Cam 2A and the Left Door.

Scott's eyes widened. "It's a good thing that you reminded me, or I would have forgotten. Freddy normally only attacks from the right when you run out of power, but when you see him in the East Hall Camera closest to the office, IMMEDIATELY put down the tablet and shut the Right Door. Do not switch cameras, do not turn to your left for any reason, don't bother with the light. Just close the door. I cannot stress this enough. If you do any of the things I said not to, Freddy will slip into your office and at some point in the night, you will die."

I swallowed the giant rock in my throat and stammered, "What do you mean, 'at some point?'"

Mr. Cawthon rubbed his temples, seeming slightly exasperated. "I don't know Mike. All I know is that the previous guards who've been attacked by Freddy and were lucky enough to survive said that he just popped up from their right side all of a sudden. He never shows up in the door, you can't see him with the lights and somehow, he can sneak into the Office and hide himself there to attack when he feels like it. If not for your own, then for your sister's sake please just shut the Right Door when you see Freddy's face in the East Hall Camera."

"Alright I will." I replied, the mention of Melody bringing her idea to the front of my mind. "Hey Mr. Cawthon, do you have a suit head without any of the machinery inside of it? My si-" The words of the contract burned in my ears. ' _I will not...describe anything that happens during the night shift with anyone but Mr. Cawthon.'_ I couldn't let him know that I'd told Melody of my experience the previous night. "I mean, I was thinking earlier today that if I had the head on, maybe they would think I was wearing the costume and they'd leave me alone."

"Hmm..." He drummed his fingers on his chin thoughtfully. "Actually I think we do. Some brat thought it would be funny to throw his soda at Bonnie's face, so we had to put on one of his spares and unscrew everything from his old mask to clean the parts and the mask itself. Hold on, I'll go get it. The fumes from the cleaner should have faded by now." My boss carefully maneuvered around the band and entered the door labeled "Employees Only." A moment later he returned with a purple bunny face in his hand, carrying it by the holes where the ears would poke out. "Here you are Mike."

I took the mask from him and carefully slid it over my face. I could barely see out of the eyeholes, but I could live with that, especially if it would save my life. "Thank you sir. I-" Just then, a buzzing came from Mr. Cawthon's pocket. Frowning, he pulled out his phone and read the text aloud. "Where are you Dad?" Then we both saw the electronic display on the phone: 11:58 PM.

The blood drained from my face. Where had the time gone? "Scott, you need to leave. NOW!" I yelled, turning and starting to run towards the Office.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" He called back as he bolted out the front door. He locked it from the outside, then he was gone. I sprinted down the Left Hallway, and made it in the doorway just as the chime of midnight rang through the building. I collapsed into the rolling chair, panting with exhaustion and relief. The phone started ringing, but my heart was racing too fast for me to do anything but sit and wait for the message to start playing.

" _Uhh, Hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, uh, congrats!"_

"Thanks man." I mumbled tiredly.

" _I-I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses. Uhh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk just to make sure everyone's in their proper place. You know..."_

Right. I still had a job to do, and there was no guarantee that those things weren't already headed towards me. I sat up straight and grabbed the tablet, viewing the Show Stage camera, where everyone was surprisingly still there.

" _Uh... Interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so, hey, I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right?"_

"Good thing too," I remarked sarcastically. "The threat of bone-crushing death wasn't even close to a good enough reason." A far-off _thump_ echoed down the darkness of the hallway, and I pulled up the camera to see that Chica had left the stage. As I watched, the Show Stage camera blurred and went into static. 'Uh oh.' I thought. 'Bonnie must be moving.'

" _I-I also want to emphasize the importance of using your door lights. There are blind spots in your camera views, and those blind spots happen to be right outside of your doors. So if-if you can't find something, or someone, on your cameras, be sure to check the door lights. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react..."_

The feed cleared up and Bonnie was indeed gone. I put down the camera and hit the door lights, left then right, but thankfully there was no one there. "Only a few seconds..." I repeated under my breath. "Thank God I've got fast reflexes."

" _Uh, not that you would be in any danger, of course. I'm not implying that."_

"Right..." I agreed, too distracted to even get upset that he was still lying to me.

" _Also, check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time. The character in there seems unique in that he becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. I guess he doesn't like being watched. I don't know."_

"Oh yeah, I forgot about Foxy." I switched to the Pirate Cove video feed and let out a startled yelp. The curtains were parted and Foxy's head was poking out. His eyepatch had been raised, and both of his yellow eyes were staring piercingly into the camera. I got the feeling that he was looking through the lens and straight at me.

" _Anyway, I'm sure you have everything under control! Uh, talk to you soon."_

"I wish I shared your confidence pal." I said to myself as I put the tablet down and got settled in for a long night.

Everything went wrong at 3 AM. The animatronics had been extremely lenient up until then, not even approaching my office once. Since I hadn't had to shut the doors at all, I was sitting pretty with 70% power left. Then Bonnie got a little too curious and ruined everything. I shut the door in the purple rabbit's face, and glanced at the right door just in case Chica was poking her beak in.

Since she wasn't, I looked back and saw that Bonnie for some reason had walked to the left window and was staring at me through the glass. We locked eye contact, and I remembered the mask trick that I'd wanted to try. I checked to make sure that Chica hadn't shown up at the door, then walked over to the desk and took the mask off of it. I looked back at Bonnie, who was still watching me, and slid the suit head over my face. Through the eyeholes, I saw Bonnie's maroon eyes seemingly widen, then collapse into white pinpricks as his metal face contorted in rage. He opened his mouth and let loose a horrible unearthly wail that rang throughout the whole restaurant, before he pulled back his right arm and sent his fist flying into the glass. Cracks and hairline fractures spread out from the impact point, but the window miraculously stayed in one piece. At this point, I realized that I'd made a grave error and ripped the mask off, throwing it across the room, but the damage was already done. Bonnie gave me one last venom-filled glare before he stormed away from the window and out of my sight.

I sank back into my chair, feeling a dreadful sense of foreboding that my shift was about to get insanely difficult. I buried my face in my hands and took a shaky breath as I recalled Bonnie's awful cry. The most disturbing thing about it was that the guitarist had actually sounded like he was truly angry and in real pain. "But that's impossible." I told myself weakly. "He's a robotic bunny. He can't have feelings!" Then the scale of how impossible the last thirty seconds had been crashed down on me like a 10 foot tall wave slamming into a cliffside during a tropical storm. That glass was bulletproof, and Bonnie, _a robot built to play guitar to entertain children,_ had cracked and almost broken it with a single punch. His metallic facial features had changed and morphed to show fury. I don't know how long I would have sat there trying to figure things out, but just then several metal clanks in rapid succession shook me out of my daze. I pulled up the tablet, which I had left on the West Hall and let out my own scream of terror as I saw Foxy sprinting down it towards my door. I dropped the tablet and lunged for the door button, remembering at the last second that it was already shut and hitting the light button instead. While the light was still on, Foxy reached the door, and I saw his shadow on the wall outside the window. He raised his hook hand and struck the door three times. _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ Then his shadow retreated, and I shut the light off, blood roaring in my ears. I looked at the Right Door, which was still cloaked in darkness. I readied my hand over the door button, and apprehensively turned on the light. The second her cover was blown, Chica tried to rush through the doorway, but was met with a metal security door. She then pressed up against the window, her gaze boring into me like an amethyst drill.

"You aren't going to leave anytime soon are you?" I asked her, even though I wasn't expecting any reply. Indeed, the only response I got was more glaring. I sighed and turned back to the Left Door. Pushing the light, no shadow was cast, so I opened the door since I had already dropped to 50% power remaining. As the slab of steel slid upward, a purple blur lunged towards the opening.

"HOLY-!" I slammed my fist into the red button again, causing the door to drop back down like a guillotine, nearly cutting the tips off of a pair of rabbit ears. Instantly afterward, there was a huge _CRASH!_ as Bonnie threw himself against the door full force, then I heard the telltale sounds of an angry animatronic stomping away.

"DID HE JUST CROUCH TO HIDE HIS SHADOW AND TRICK ME INTO LETTING HIM IN?!" I shouted in disbelief, resolving to keep both doors shut for the rest of the night. "How smart are these things?!"

I turned to the Right Door and pressed the light button, and found Chica still glaring at me. I pulled up the tablet and switched to Pirate's Cove and saw Foxy about to sprint down the hallway again. I set the tablet down, and looked up at the clock, which marked the time as 3:30 AM and my power at 40%. I broke down into tears. I was going to die.

I glanced up at the clock display in a panic. 0% power, but before I could read the time, there was a low _hum_ as all the lights, the cameras, and even the fan and clock shut off. The two metal doors -my only protection- slid open with a _clank_. I sat there in the dark, unable to do anything but watch as two pairs of eyes lit up outside the right door, amethyst and yellow. Then slow, heavy footsteps came from the Left Hallway. I turned slowly towards the left as they continued, seeing two maroon eyes already present in the doorway. As I watched, paralyzed with fear, the red eyes floated to the side a few feet, and then a blue pair lit up in the darkness. A musical tune started playing, and then it appeared as though Freddy's teeth lit up as well so I could barely make out the outline of his face. As the song continued, I recognized it as an instrumental version of the Toreador March from the opera Carmen, and I noticed that Freddy's eyes and teeth seemed to be flickering in sync with the music, as if he was singing to me. A wave of cold despair washed over me. He was _taunting_ me, mocking me because he knew he'd won.

I don't know how long he stood there playing his melody, as the fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins slowed time to a torturous crawl, making it seem like I was sitting there for hours. Then, as abruptly as it had started, the song stopped, and Freddy's teeth and all four sets of eyes blinked out. I sat unmoving, my eyes trying in vain to adjust to the total darkness, my heart beating faster with every _thump_ I heard drawing slowly closer. As I waited for something to happen, all I could think was, ' _Melody... I'm sorry.'_

 _ **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

Freddy, who I guess had been crawling towards me on all fours like a real bear, reared back up in all his 8 foot glory, screeching like a freight train on a collision course with my face. Both of his paws slammed down on my shoulders like crane claws and lifted me up out of the chair. Instantly my silent paralysis shattered. A terrified shriek was torn from my throat as I started desperately beating at Freddy's face with my fists and thrashing about. My goal of freeing myself was not achieved, but I did manage to knock off his top hat. Any further hopes I had of freedom were quickly dashed when Bonnie and Foxy each grabbed one of my legs and Chica took hold of my right arm, allowing Freddy to readjust his grip on me so that he had my left arm. The four animatronics carried me out of the Office and towards the Backstage. I wasn't really sure why I was still calling for help and struggling as there was no way I could escape their iron grips; it was hopeless. We reached the door labeled Employees Only, and Freddy used his free paw to turn the knob and push the door open. The robots threw me inside roughly, and I slid headlong into one of the table legs. I felt the warmth of blood from a freshly opened wound on top of my head as black spots danced in front of my eyes, but I knew that those were the least of my worries as the quartet walked into the room, picked my up and set me on the table. I saw the back coronal half of a Freddy Fazbear suit next to me, and then I was set on top of it. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy gathered around me, cruel sneers covering each of their faces.

 _ **Gosh darnit Mike you had one job! Unfortunately as you can see, the Fazbear crew aren't the most forgiving employers. Was Mike right to be working on his will? Tune in next time to find out!**_

 _ **And for those of you wondering when next time will be, I have no idea. Once I'm comfortably ahead I suppose. But hey, what's life without a little uncertainty and variety? Think of it like a suprise gift- if you knew when it was coming, that would ruin the fun.**_


End file.
